Photographed in November 2025 at the Port of Los Angeles, California. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Commerce and the Census Bureau announced on the 19th that the deficit in the trade balance for December 2025 widened by 32.6% from the previous month to $70.3 billion. This was the highest level in five months due to the rapid increase in imports. In addition, the goods deficit in 2025 hit a record high as President Trump introduced extensive tariff measures.
A Reuters poll of economists had predicted the trade deficit would narrow to $55.5 billion in December.
Imports in December increased by 3.6% to $357.6 billion. Imports of goods increased by 3.8% to $280.2 billion. This was driven by a $7 billion increase in industrial materials.
Imports of capital goods increased by $5.6 billion, driven by computer-related equipment and communication equipment. This appears to be related to the construction of data centers related to artificial intelligence (AI).
On the other hand, imports of consumer goods decreased. Pharmaceutical formulations were a factor in the decline.
Exports in December decreased by 1.7% to $287.3 billion. Exports of goods decreased by 2.9% to $180.8 billion. This was weighed down by an 8.7 billion dollar decline in industrial materials, mainly non-monetary gold.
On the other hand, exports of capital goods increased. Exports of consumer goods, including pharmaceuticals, also increased.
The goods trade deficit widened by 18.8% in December to $99.3 billion. Imports of services increased by $2 billion to $77.4 billion. Services exports increased by $500 million to $106.5 billion.
The trade deficit for 2025 shrank by 0.2% to $901.5 billion. Meanwhile, the trade deficit in goods expanded by 2.1% to reach a record high of $1.24 trillion. The trade deficit in goods with Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan, Ireland, Thailand and India hit record levels, while the trade deficit with China shrank to $202.1 billion from $295.5 billion in 2024.
Imports of goods in 2025 increased by 4.3% to $3.44 trillion, a record high. Exports of goods also reached a record high of $2.2 trillion, an increase of 5.7%.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has lowered its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate (annual rate) for the fourth quarter of 2025 from 3.6% to 3.0% as the trade deficit exceeded expectations.
“Strong imports should also suggest strength in inventories and business investment,” said Veronica Clark, an economist at Citigroup. “In particular, the rapid increase in imports of computers should be in response to steady capital investment, and there is a possibility that the economy will remain strong against the backdrop of AI-related demand.”
Our Code of Conduct: Thomson Reuters “Principles of Trust”
